ALCS: Limping, lumbering Miggy has become unstoppable force, as play at the plate proves

Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera is tagged out at home by Boston Red Sox's David Ross in the first inning during Game 5 of the American League baseball championship series Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT — There’s no question that, at times, Miguel Cabrera is an unstoppable offensive force. Most times, that’s just figurative, a bit of hyperbole.

Now, it’s more than likely literal.

Running from second base, the hobbled Cabrera got a late stop sign from Detroit Tigers third base coach Tom Brookens early in Thursday’s Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, and blew through it, heading toward home plate.

“It was like the last second he stop me. I see it, but I couldn’t stop, and I keep going,” Cabrera said after the game. “I saw he send me and when I try to stop me, I’m not able to stop at the right time. That was my fault.”

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He was out by a billion miles (hyperbole again) at the plate, gunned down by left fielder Jonny Gomes. For a team that has had trouble scoring runs in the postseason, that was a huge opportunity missed early in a game the Tigers needed to have. And did not get, losing by a single run, 4-3.

What was to blame?

Brookens’ late decision to switch from waving Cabrera to trying to stop him?

Cabrera’s inability to gear down and stop on a dime?

Cabrera’s decision to not just round the base and retreat?

How about all of the above.

“You’ve got to hold him up right away. Tommy was waving. And in defense of him, the natural instincts is to wave right away. You don’t want to stop him too quick in case something happened in the outfield. It’s hard to get him going again. But he held him too late,” manager Jim Leyland said.
“With Cabrera right now you have to be cautious, you can see that. And like I say, he probably made a mistake by just not holding him a little quicker. But like I said, in defense a little bit if the guy bobbled the ball and it rolls away a little bit, and you stop him too quickly, then you can’t get him going again.
“It was a touchy one, but with Miguel’s status right now, you pretty much almost have to play safety first, you can’t really take any chances.”

The problem was adjusting that decision on the fly, when Gomes fielded Jhonny Peralta’s single to left cleanly, and came up gunning.

“When it was hit, I’m usually waving guys on, ‘Come on, come on.’ You kind of wait as long as you can, maybe the guy will bobble it, misplay it or something. I think when I held it up, it was probably a little too late. He had already kept coming. I was hoping he would see me and stop but Miggy sometimes, when you get him going, he just keeps going. I think that’s really what happened. I think he saw me waving initially, come on, come on, and then when I tried to stop him, it was too late,” Brookens said.
“He was a couple steps from the base. He hadn’t quite gotten to third base yet. Looking back on it, it’s one of them, he kind of gets it going, it’s hard to stop. I think that’s really what happened.”

Cabrera appeared to have his head down as he rounded the bag at third. He made no effort to slow down.

“In that situation, you react. It’s a quick game, my reaction was keep going. When I see that, I was trying to stop,” Cabrera said. “It was like the last second he stop me. I see it, but I couldn’t stop, and I keep going.”

Stopping and starting are not Cabrera’s forte when he’s completely healthy.

But trying too hard to do it now might have aggravated the groin and abdominal issues that have plagued him for most of the second half of the season. Moving doesn’t necessarily impact the injury, but sudden movements, quick starts and stops, are what makes it worse, generally.

“You know you can’t really press the issue with him because he’s not gonna make it. He doesn’t have the speed right now to make that play. When it was hit, I was waving him, come on, come on, then I realized he wasn’t gonna make it and I tried to hold him up. I think in Miggy’s mind, it was a little too late and he just kept it going,” Brookens said.
“I think it’s tough on him to stop as much as it is to get started. It’s just one of them that he was rolling and he decided, I’m gonna keep it going and he was out pretty easy at the plate.”

The ball arrived long before the lumbering Cabrera did, and he was unable to dislodge it in a collision with Red Sox catcher David Ross.

Inning over.

“I say, it’s two outs. Every third base coach, Brookie knows on a base hit, you gotta send the runner. It doesn’t matter who runs,” Cabrera said.
“Usually in that situation he sends me. He stop me late, but you know, that’s baseball. You gotta find a way to score.”

It was a mistake that everyone contributed to.

“I think what happens with two outs sometimes, you’re thinking you’ve got to score with two outs, that’s the old baseball thing. But in this particular case with Miggy you’ve got to hold him up right away. He was waving, and it probably stopped him a little late. With Miggy right now, you’ve got to stop him. And there was nothing Miggy could do, he saw him waving and Brookie held him up a little late,” Leyland said.
“Like I said, with him right now it’s pretty rough for him. So it was just one of those unfortunate things. But in saying that, everybody just assumes the next guy is going to get a hit. That doesn’t always hold true.
“But (Brookens) made a mistake.”

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his “Out of Left Field” blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 18 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.